Google co-founder Andy Rubin turned heads at All Things Digital’s D: Dive Into Mobile conference in San Francisco this week. During a talk at the conference Andy showed off his baby, the new Android 3.0 OS (aka ‘Honeycomb’). As a double whammy he previewed the OS on Motorola’s prototype tablet, helping the hardware manufacturer jostle […]

The tablet market is starting to get pretty heated. In addition to the iPad and Galaxy Tab, and RIM PlayBook, we can now expect something from Sharp in the order of a Galapagos line of tablet devices. Initial news was revealed in late September, Sharp now has followed through with an official announcement.

Some people may lead you to believe that the tablet market is already saturated with the Apple iPad and none of these other competitors are going to matter. I beg to differ. The market is just heating up and Acer has thrown its name into the arena with at least two Android powered tablets for next year.

You know the analyst that said tablet sales are sluggish and Samsung has had to cut its production in half? Maybe the Korean giant was just being a little too ambitious, because some initial sales figures have risen to the surface.

While I still think the Dell Streak is a bit of an anomoly in the technology world, the five-inch smartphone/tablet hybrid certainly has its place. Maybe you like the form factor, but you want a little more? It seems that the Streak’s successor is already in the works and it’s going to be called the Dell Opus One.

The cheapest Apple iPad you can buy is $499. The cheapest Galaxy Tab is still $400 on contract. There has to be a more affordable option from a name you can trust. Acer thinks so. That’s why it’s launching its first line of tablets on November 23 with prices starting at $299. That’s quite a bit cheaper!

Barnes & Noble this week let the NOOKcolor out of the bag. They claim it’s “the first full-color touch Reader’s Tablet to deliver digital books, magazines, newspapers and children’s books.” I guess they haven’t seen that thing called the iPad yet

Sprint has come out clean with the release details on the Samsung Galaxy Tab Android tablet, they gave the official word that on November 14th you’ll be able to grab one for a much more affordable $399.

Everyone is getting into the tablet game these days and it seems to make the most sense to strike while the pan is hot. Lenovo doesn’t think so. It’s exercising a fair bit of patience and apprehensive caution, because it’s not going to release a tablet device until some time next year.

amsung and Verizon are opening the doors on Galaxy Tab sales beginning this November 11th. The price is a whopping $600, that’s it, no discounts, subsidy, or anything else. My guess is the first round are in limited quantities, so they won’t have a problem selling it to early adopters who have a deep inner desire for a less than optimized Android tablet.

We already know that the Samsung Galaxy Tab is going to end up with T-Mobile, but the pricing is still up in the air. However, the latest rumors are pointing toward a price that could put the Android tablet a little out of reach for the average consumer. We’re now hearing that the sale price is just $399. That’s with a rebate and a data contract. Ouch!

CherryPal is now shipping their $188 Android tablet. It’s less than half the price of an iPad, and the company says early user experiences of the CherryPad are “extremely positive.” With Android 2.1 on board, the CherryPad has full access to the Android Market. We’ve heard of other tablets not getting full access, so this is something substantial with all things considered.

When Google released the Android operating system it was never intended to be used on large screen tablet devices. Some companies went ahead regardless and manufactured tablets with Android in order to create some type of competition for Apple’s iPad, whether that competition really existed or not in terms of sales is another story, regardless, these companies are definitely getting attention in the media.

The tablet market is about to get even more crowded. Dell has already made an appearance with its Dell Streak handheld, but that only has a five-inch screen. Now, we’re getting a good glimpse at an upcoming 7-inch slate, which bears a striking resemblance to the Looking Glass tablet PC we saw some time back.